In 2025, Frontier Nursing University celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the inception of the Frontier Nursing Service. We are grateful for the alumni, students, couriers, donors, volunteers, friends, and employees who have made an incredible impact on FNU’s century-long journey. We are celebrating this milestone year by capturing and sharing some of the countless stories that make up our history. Whatever your connection to FNU, we hope you enjoy these stories and are inspired to share your own story with us.
Dr. Viktoriya Kashin was born in Russia and moved with her family to the United States when she was 8 years old. Dr. Kashin credits her mother, who passed away while Viktoriya was in nursing school, for encouraging her to go into the medical field.
She became a nurse but her desire to do more for her patients drove her to pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at Frontier, graduating in 2020.
“I felt I was limited as a nurse because my knowledge base was limited,” Dr. Kashin said. “I couldn’t understand certain disease processes or how to help people in certain situations. My dad had a pulmonary embolism. Being in a room with him and unable to assist him felt very helpless, so I decided to go back to school, and I applied to Frontier.”
Dr. Kashin put her DNP to work in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Florida Health Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. That’s where she was working when Russia invaded Ukraine in the winter of 2022. Witnessing the devastation of her homeland and its people drove her to take action as part of a medical missionary trip that same spring.
Her 20-day mission trip began by flying into Krakow, Poland, and then driving to Ukraine. Her group then set up in a refugee center.
“Every day I would go in and see patients,” Dr. Kashin said. “I had a couple of pregnant patients and a couple of babies that were just born. We also went to train stations and gave out goodie bags full of supplies. Every day, the bomb sirens would go off. Many people at the refugee center had PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Every time a door slammed, everyone would jump.”
Despite the reminders of violence all around them, the volunteers did their best to make the refugee center as comfortable and welcoming as they could. In addition to the meals, room to sleep, and access to medical care, a hairstylist gave haircuts, and other women offered massages. Often, the refugees just wanted someone to talk to.
“They wanted to tell you where they came from, about their pets they left behind, their husband or brother or father that’s fighting,” Dr. Kashin said. “We just sat with them and listened and offered encouragement. I held back a lot of tears.”
While fully focused on her current work, Dr. Kashin is always mindful of the people impacted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Some images stay with you long after you return home,” she said. “I remember the shocked faces of Ukrainians, quietly asking why we had left the peaceful skies of the United States to come help them. I remember store clerks, eyes full of tears, asking for prayers—for their sons, brothers, and husbands fighting on the front lines.”
Dr. Kashin and her team were close enough to the front lines to be jarred by the warning sirens and explosions.
“I remember the twelve of us sleeping like sardines on the floor of a gymnasium, jolted awake by the sound of missiles—grateful each time they weren’t meant for us. I remember families taking shelter in an abandoned hospital, crammed into small rooms, sitting on their beds and staring blankly into space. Some cried as they spoke about the people and lives they had left behind.”
Understandably, those memories and images linger and present questions to which there are no satisfactory answers.
“When I returned home, I struggled to name what I was feeling. It wasn’t until much later that I realized: it was survival guilt,” Dr. Kashin said. “I, too, am Russian, with family spread across both Russia and Ukraine. Why do I get to return to safety in peaceful America, while others take cover in subway stations each night?”
While in Ukraine, Dr. Kashin and her brother Oleg met a few families whom they later helped sponsor to come to the U.S. to escape the conflict. Meanwhile, Dr. Kashin is prepared to go on another mission trip.
“I am currently registered with several medical mission teams and awaiting deployment,” she said. “I remain eager to contribute where needed and would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with others. If any readers are organizing trips or in need of additional support, I would be happy to discuss joining a future team.”
Today, Dr. Kashin lives in New York City and is a provider for a private telemedicine company that specializes in hormone replacement therapy for both men and women, erectile dysfunction, and weight loss medication.
“I apply evidence-based protocols to deliver personalized care that supports hormonal and metabolic health,” she said. “One of the most meaningful aspects of this work is the ability to expand access to care—particularly for patients in remote or underserved areas who may not have consistent access to in-person providers. Many of our patients are uninsured or underinsured, and we are often able to offer more affordable options for treatment and medication. Working in this space has allowed me to combine clinical autonomy with a strong focus on patient-centered care, while helping bridge gaps in access, continuity, and affordability.”
We want to celebrate our anniversary by capturing and sharing the countless stories that make up our history. Whatever your connection to FNU, we are incredibly grateful to you and want to hear your Frontier story.
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>> Read More from “A Century of Stories”
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).